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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23594620">factors of two</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewrites/pseuds/steviewrites'>steviewrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>cadamian [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Comfort, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Pillow &amp; Blanket Forts, Some Humor, Trans Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:00:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,770</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23594620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviewrites/pseuds/steviewrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span class="small">damian accompanies cady on a mathletes competition weekend trip.</span>
  </p>
</blockquote>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cady Heron &amp; Damian Hubbard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>cadamian [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524287</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>factors of two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/damianhubbard/gifts">damianhubbard</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <span class="small">there is simply not enough people who appreciate cady and damian’s friendship. smh y’all.</span>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span class="small"><b>grey!damian</b> &amp; <b>becca!cady</b></span>
  </p>
</blockquote>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Cady. Hey, kid. We’re almost there.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cady opens her eyes, finding her head has been cushioned by Damian’s shoulder this whole time. Norbury’s hand is on hers, and she gives her teacher a smile to show she’s awake.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Out the window, a new city is sprawling on either side of the bus, and Cady sits up eagerly to climb over Damian’s lap to look. He jerks awake, pushing his eye mask up his forehead in confusion, as Cady jostles his arm excitedly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Look, look!” she whisper-yells, captivated by the sight of the buildings and storefronts. Cities in America will always fascinate her, though to Damian it’s nothing special.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“NYC is better,” he mumbles disinterestedly, evidently deciding to go back to sleep.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Once parked in front of the hotel, Norbury leads the clan of talkative kids off the bus, Damian trailing after Cady lethargically.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They’ve been on the road since eleven this morning, and it’s just after four now. He and Cady spent most of the trip napping on each other, since he’ll never miss an opportunity to sleep. Now he and Cady hold hands as they enter the hotel, Cady drinking in the clean, sparkly atmosphere.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Norbury purposely booked her own room, which Cady understands after being on the bus with Kevin and the other boys all day. Cady would’ve also been sleeping alone, but Damian begged to tag along, and Norbury figured why not let him. Cady is rather glad he’s here, a familiar presence in a not so familiar city. She squeezes his hand three times as they enter the elevator after the others, since she knows he hates tight spaces, and he leans against her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Boys, quiet down,” Norbury calls after them as they run for their room, sighing when they do not listen to her. Damian purses his lips and shakes his head in disapproval.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you glad you’re stuck with me instead, Caddy?” he says, and honestly, she really is. She loves her Mathletes, but loves Damian more.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Norbury gratefully retires to the room across from theirs, ready for some peace and quiet, and they head into theirs, Cady putting the room key in her pocket.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She feigns a gasp when she sees the lone queen bed. “Oh, dear, there’s only one bed. Whatever shall we do, Damian dear?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She pretends to faint into his arms, and he hugs her. “Snuggletime,” he sings, which is exactly what she was hoping he’d say. Sleeping in the same bed doesn’t faze them at all, because it obviously doesn’t mean anything, and they’ve had plenty of sleepovers at home where they’ve ended up on top of the other like one is a body pillow. That kind of platonic intimacy is something Damian never had imagined was possible for him, but Cady made it happen. And now it’s become their thing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Wanna keep sleeping til we have to leave?” she asks, poking his cheek while he yawns.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You know me so well,” he sighs, and they gleefully kick off their shoes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They have a couple hours before Cady has to get ready, and sleep the entire time. Then Damian sits on the edge of the bed, flipping through the TV channels in a groggy state, while Cady gets dressed. She dons her slacks and blue polo, fussing with a funky curl in her hair before giving up and just pulling it back with a scrunchie.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“How do I look?” she inquires, bouncing out of the bathroom to show him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Adorbs,” he compliments, blowing her a kiss. “Like you’re gonna outsmart the shit out of the other team. I love you.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I love you more,” she laughs, checking her reflection in a nearby mirror once more before grabbing her backpack. Tyler knocks then, asking if she’s ready, and her stomach does a nervous twisty turn. She is humbly aware she’s the smartest one on the team, but competitions will never fail to make her anxious. She’s good at her craft, but being watched while doing it is still new to her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Damian takes her hand as they exit the room, meeting the others by the elevators. He holds on tight as they head down, through the lobby, and out to the rental van, where Norbury is waiting at the wheel. Cady would’ve drifted if it wasn’t for him, since her mind is going to that mildly panicky place it always seems to wander before a tournament.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Remember, you’re only going against one team,” Damian reminds her as Norbury parks ten minutes later. “There’s a lot of people but you guys only have one round.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cady exhales, glancing at the plethora of cars around them, taking note of the swarm of people going into the venue. He’s right, though—North Shore has one opposing school, and every team has a school to match. So despite all the people, they aren’t competing against every single school here.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You got this,” he assures as the Mathletes and Norbury head for the entrance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Do I?” Cady says doubtfully, unsure why she’s more nervous now than last spring when she hadn’t aced anything in calculus in a long time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Damian insists matter-of-factly, and his confidence in her makes her heart warm. “You are gonna knock ’em all dead, honey. It’ll be over before you know it and y’all are gonna take home another trophy.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“We usually just get medals.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Still,” he huffs. “You’re gonna be just fine. I’m rooting for you.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She hugs his arm appreciatively. “I love you so much. I’m really happy you’re here.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Awww. Me, too, Caddy.” He kisses the top of her head, and just like that, any worries she has ebb away into nothing. They’re just numbers and lines. If Damian believes she’ll conquer, she will.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Conquer they do, and Cady wins the final round against a smug-looking boy from a Michigan school. Damian leaps up from his seat to give her a standing ovation, and she offers her hand to the sour-faced kid who reluctantly shakes it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Her team envelops her in a group hug, and then gratefully accept their medals. In the audience beside Norbury, Damian films the little ceremony more emotional than her own mother has.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In the venue lobby, he scoops her up off the floor into a classic Damian bear hug, and it’s truly the best rush of euphoria she’s felt in a while. Something about having her best friend here to support her makes the win all the more satisfying. She likes making him proud.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They get Olive Garden for dinner—what Damian affectionately calls the Mathletes version of theatre kids going to Denny’s—and Cady watches in fascination as ever-hungry Damian downs whole breadsticks for himself. In a weird way, he fits right in, even though he isn’t a Mathlete, joking with the other boys and clowning around with the paper on their straws. Cady is glad, really glad, that he feels so comfortable with her group rather than left out or awkward. He’s just as excited as they are, and she hopes he’ll share in the joy like this with them again.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>At the hotel, finally returned for the night, Cady hangs her new medal up on the back of the closet door. She feels a sense of pride looking at it, looking forward to pairing it with the rest.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They take turns in the shower, but don’t feel tired enough yet to sleep. They lay on the bed and scroll through their phones in content silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. Damian gasps at one point, showing Cady his phone before she can ask why, to present an image he found on Pinterest of a blanket fort.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“We should make this, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t say yes.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They scramble off the bed and Cady runs to the closet to check for an extra sheet, needing his height to get it off the shelf. They peel back the comforter and plump up the pillows, then work on pinning the sheet to the headboard and using the nearby armchairs to hold the other ends. Damian pulls out actual fairy lights from his bag, but Cady doesn’t bat an eyelash, figuring it’d be odd if he <em>didn’t</em> think to bring them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After a lot of trial and error, they finally perfect their fort, turning off the lamp to accentuate the glow of the lights. They crawl inside and both claim a pillow, taking pictures to send to Janis and their moms.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I’m hungry again,” Cady announces, so Damian gets up to retrieve the room service menu on the dresser. They spend a solid five minutes trying to decide between red velvet cheesecake and an ice cream sundae, the latter winning due to their mutual love of chocolate sprinkles.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since the TV is obstructed by the fort, they snuggle up with Cady’s iPad to watch a movie as they wait for their late-night treat. They start <em>Booksmart</em>, a favorite among the art freaks, and are already halfway through it when their ice cream finally arrives.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Worth the wait,” Damian remarks around a mouthful of syrup-covered banana and vanilla ice cream. Cady grabs a napkin and dabs his chin.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When there’s not a single sprinkle left and the second movie of the night is over, Cady half expects Damian to admit he’s finally tired, since it’s close to midnight—instead, he says they should make TikToks, and she’s physically incapable of turning that down.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He has to teach her the dances, but eventually she gets it, though she’s not as smooth of a mover as he is. The dancing and laughing tires them out, and after deciding they can’t stay up to see if they go viral, they brush their teeth, plug in their phones, and crawl under the covers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” Cady mumbles, happily cuddling up to his warm side.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I love you more,” he hums, squeezing her. “Told you you’d be amazing.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She shrugs. “Only because you were there this time. You should’ve seen me at our last comp, I was totally off my game that day,” she confesses, and yawns. “But I’m glad you’re here. You made me feel like I could do it.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He’s relieved it’s pitch dark now, for his eyes well up fast. “Of course you can. And we all have days where we’re not able to do our usual best, and that’s okay.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She pokes his cheek. “Says the guy who beats himself up whenever he can’t get out of bed.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“We’re not talking about me,” Damian retorts hastily, and she scoffs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Right. Well, thanks.” She bumps her foot to his. “Goodnight, stupid.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Goodnight, my angel.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They fall asleep not long after this affectionate exchange, cozy in their safe little fort, arms around each other because even in sleep they refuse to be apart.</p><p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>Damian is awoken by Cady’s soft snoring in his ear, and doesn’t move for nearly half an hour til she wakes up. She greets him by smushing his face and kissing his cheeks, and they wake up side by side on their phones.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It’s late in the afternoon, but it seems everyone slept in, because Kevin texts the Mathletes chat to let Cady and Damian know they’re welcome to join them down at the hotel pool.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You can go,” Damian tells her lightly, and she looks at him, sensing the strain in his voice.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t wanna swim?” she asks gently, and he makes a face.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I mean, I do, but I’d have to keep my shirt on,” he mumbles, putting his free arm over his chest self-consciously. Cady pouts sympathetically and cuddles close to comfort him. He’s been on T for over a year now, but hasn’t gotten top surgery yet, so she understands the reluctance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Are you worried they’ll make fun of you?” she inquires.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” he says, pointedly keeping his eyes on his phone, chewing his lip fretfully. “I don’t know them <em>that </em>well.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“They wouldn’t give you a hard time,” Cady insists soothingly. “I know them. They’re good guys. They won’t ask and they won’t make jokes. Not even Kevin. But if you don’t want to, it’s okay. I understand.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He sighs, leaning his head on hers. “I might just dip my feet in.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine. You do what you’re comfortable with, babe.” She kisses his cheek, then crawls out of their cozy fort to give him some space. She retrieves her swimsuit from her luggage and goes into the bathroom to start her day, and when she emerges, Damian has begun sadly taking the fort down, but is clad in swim shorts with a t-shirt over his binder.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Just in case I change my mind,” he explains sweetly, and Cady gives him a hug.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They leave the rest of their packing for later, and head down to the first floor to join the other boys at the pool. The Mathletes are excited to see them, and don’t say anything about Damian being the only one who’s not shirtless. Regardless, he holds on to Cady’s hand until he feels safe enough to let go, and perches at the edge with his feet in as she jumps off the diving platform.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The boys make sure to include Damian despite him not swimming, playing a game of what Kevin calls water basketball by using Damian as the hoop, only he throws it back and whoever catches it gets a point. It’s less annoying than Marco Polo, at least, and Damian seems to really enjoy it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Eventually, though, he wades into the shallow end, and Cady coaxes him in further by saying she’ll give him a hug—and he does, unable to resist.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Soon she’s perched on his shoulders play-fighting with Marwan, sitting on Tyler’s, until Cady loses the battle and tumbles into the water. Damian pretends to rescue her—though he does look mildly concerned—and she climbs back up for a rematch, unwilling to lose.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ultimately the fun has to come to an end, and Norbury shows up to corral them up and out of the pool, offering a towel and pack of fruit snacks for each, including Damian. She’s a den mother in every aspect. They couldn’t do this without her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Once the kids are relatively dry and the fruit gummies are wolfed down, everyone returns to their rooms to rinse off and get dressed for the trip home. Cady triple-checks the room to be sure they didn’t forget or misplace anything, with Damian glancing at his Lego watch by the door, and then they finally head out to meet up with the others.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Great job this weekend, guys,” Norbury congratulates once they’re all on the bus. “I’m proud of y’all. Let’s keep it up. And of course, so pleased our special guest could tag along,” and she starts a chorus of applause for Damian, who stands to bow and wave off the praise.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You’re the man, Hubbard,” Tyler says from behind, ruffling Damian’s damp curls, and Cady smiles. The boys are sincere in their respect for him, and not just because they know she’d chew out all of them for being anything less than kind.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Cady scoots close to Damian when they decide to watch <em>Queer Eye</em>, since she downloaded a few episodes for the trip back. He puts his arm around her and she snuggles up to his side, drowning in his cozy blue sweatshirt. She wears her right AirPod and offers him the left.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She grows sleepy halfway through the second episode, but it’s a content kind of tired, where she’s warm and happy and wants to stay awake a while longer. Because Damian is here, wearing the biggest flannel Cady owns, cheek on top of her head. His breathing is soft and steady, the warmth and closeness of his body keeping her safe. She’s just happy, so happy, that he came with, and it wouldn’t have been the same without him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>She loves her Mathletes, but if Damian hadn’t come, she would’ve been sleeping alone. She’d have been anxious the entire tournament if he hadn’t given her a pep talk. She’d have to wake up alone and without the fairy lights and his cute face to greet her.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was an adventure and she hopes he’ll go on another like this again. Cady is overwhelmed by thankfulness that Damian Hubbard is her friend and one of her biggest supporters, titles he takes very seriously. It’s good to have a friend who’s always up for a journey. And for Damian, he would go wherever as long as it’s with her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <span class="small">thank you for reading! kudos and comments are fetch ♡</span>
</p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <span class="small">
      <b>find me:</b>
    </span>
    <br/>
    <span class="small">
      <a href="https://twitter.com/wantingmylove">twitter</a>
    </span>
    <br/>
    <span class="small">
      <a href="https://cadyjanis.tumblr.com">tumblr</a>
    </span>
  </p>
</blockquote></blockquote></div></div>
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